Wilson Premier West Prospect Breakdowns

Jim Murphy is a longtime coach, both at the high school and collegiate levels, and has scouted for several organizations during his more than four decades of experience in baseball. Jim scouted the 2017 Wilson Premier West Classic from June 9-12, and here are his reports on 10 prospects who stood out at theevent.

Long, slender athletic frame with tight twist to body. Eric Davis look to him. Effortless, gliding strides in the field and around the bases. Shows first-step quickness and base-stealing instincts. Arm strength showed average to plus and will get stronger. Plays center field and has a chance to be everyday defender. Feet, quickness and arm play well. Very confident at the plate. Gray shows fast-twitch muscle movement in hands. Balanced, aggressive approach. Maintains balance and is on time through the swing hitting against and through a firm front side. Gap-type power in games right now.

Long, lean frame. High-waisted with round shoulders and long arms. Good baseball instincts with plus arm strength. Athletic body. Generates bat speed with an easy load and starts swing with lower half. His hand speed gets barrel to the ball. Has a chance to hit for average with power to the gaps. Throwing arm and speed are two plus tools. Not a base stealer but can go first to third with powerful strides.

Medium frame, muscular build with loose arm action and square shoulders. Threw from a consistent three-quarters arm slot. Arm action is long in back. He stays tall in his delivery with little or no head movement. Works both sides of plate with his fastball (88-91 mph). His curveball velocity was 72-74, while his changeup sat 81-82. Marceaux’s curveball has depth with 1-to-7 tilt. He lands flat-footed and commanded the strike zone with a two-seam fastball that showed life down and in to righthanded hitters. He sells the pitch with full extension out in front.

Becker has a long, lean body with slopped shoulders and throws from three-quarter arm slot. He works quickly with easy, well-balanced mechanics. Becker pitched to both sides of plate early on with command. Gets slightly upside down in the back but gets arm into slot with ease. Has a long stride to plate and lands flat-footed. Becker has a balanced and repeatable delivery. His fastball sat at 89-92 and his breaking ball worked at 76-77. He was aggressive in the strike zone, with his slider having a chance to be special. Very poised and knows how to pitch.

Broad-shouldered lefty with medium frame, slender body. Throws from three-quarter arm slot with his fastball working at 85-88, his curveball at 70-72 and his changeup at 74. When everything is on time in his delivery, Lohman throws downhill with slight arm-side tail on his fastball. On occasion he will drift into his pitch and miss his spots high and away. Because of this, his release point changes as well. When his timing is right, he gets full extension and sells his pitches out in front.

Well-built muscular and proportionate build. Well-developed musculature. Big, strong lower half. Good comparison for Craig Biggio. Is fluid, quick and well-balanced. Good feel for game with good anticipation. He’s an aggressive hitter who stays inside of the ball and hits against firm front side. Northcut has a good two-strike approach, getting his front foot down in time and staying short to the ball.

Classic pitcher’s body type with long arms and legs, sloping shoulders and a three-quarters arm slot. His velocity was below average with his fastball sitting at 83-86 and his curveball at 62-63. Shows some life and deception from low three-quarter slot at times. He struggled to find release point when I saw him and had a tendency to rush his delivery and cut off his front side. Interesting prospect with deception and physical projection. Shows the potential to develop into a situational lefty going forward.

James Gamble | OF | 6-0, 165 | Greenway High, Phoenix (2018)

Looks like a baseball player. Good baseball actions with life in his body. Gamble has bouncy actions and a loose body with first-step quickness and speed. He reached first base in 4.2 seconds from right side, getting out of box quickly. Gamble showed the first-step quickness to stick in center field and an average arm, meaning that he has both the tools and instincts to play the position. Gamble takes long, easy strides and covers both gaps well. He starts his swing with front side flying open, which carries him around the ball instead of allowing him to stay through the ball. He makes consistent contact, though, and appears to be athletic enough to make adjustments at the plate. Has a chance to be really good player.

Broad-shouldered and muscular pitcher. Throws across body with arm side movement late in the zone on 86-89 mph fastball. Lloyd’s slider showed cutting action at 75-76. He induced lots of swing and miss due to late movement and deception. Lloyd works quickly and attacks hitters with confidence.

Edwards is a toolsy athlete with middle infield movement and instincts. His hands, feet and arm all show average or better potential. May have to play second base ultimately, with merely average arm strength, but he gets rid of the ball quickly. Good feel for hitting. Reached first base in 3.8 seconds on a bunt up the third base line. Edwards has first-step explosiveness on the base paths. He shows base-stealing instincts. Hustles and explodes out of box. Shows ability to go other way from both left and right sides of plate.

Schauwecker is a large-framed guy and an adequate defender at first base, where he shows good footwork around the bag. In the batter’s box, he starts from an open stance and works to close. He gets his front foot down with good balance and is typically on time, throwing his hands at the ball. Schauwecker showed good pitch recognition and the ability to stay inside the ball. He also showed gap power with occasional fence power.